Last year at about this time, the Washington County Emergency Management Agency, an arm of the Department of Emergency Services, presented the county’s first Citizens’ Emergency Preparedness Day, designed to educate citizens on actions to take in the event of many types of emergencies.

The event was successful, and marked the beginning of annual programs. This year’s Emergency Preparedness Day is under joint sponsorship of Washington County Government and the City of Hagerstown and will be held on Saturday November 15th, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Robinwood Medical Center campus off Edgewood Drive in Hagerstown. Citizens should enter by the Blue or Silver entrances.

All sessions and workshops are free and open to the public and will be held in 4 “tracks”. There will be a Children’s track, and Adult Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) will be offered, taught by the County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Track “A” consists of preparedness workshops dealing with Chemical Safety, taught by Washington County’s Special Operations unit; Home Fire Escape Planning, taught by the City of Hagerstown Fire Department; Pets and Emergency Preparedness, offered by the Washington County Humane Society; and Special Needs Preparedness, taught by the County’s Disabilities Advisory Committee.

Track “B” is a series of response workshops consisting of the Emergency Alerting System in Severe Weather or Terrorism Events, taught by the Washington County Emergency Management Department; How to Prepare a Family Disaster Kit, taught by the American Red Cross; Sheltering and Evacuation, a joint session by Emergaency Management and the Red Cross; and Quarantine and Isolation, taught by the Washington County Health Department.

Track “C” is the children’s track and features topics taught by the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association and the Washington County Health System.

Track “D” is the CPR course taught by the Red Cross and requires advance registration. Persons wishing to take this course should call 240-313-2930 and leave a message containing name and phone number.

A number of volunteer civic organizations involved in health and safety concerns during emergency situations will have table displays and will provide information on how to volunteer.

The Partners in Preparedness Committee coordinates the annual event. That committee consists of representatives from Washington County Department of Emergency Services, Washington County Health Department, Washington County Health System, Inc., the American Red Cross, Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association and the Washington County Disabilities Advisory Committee.